Embracing Futuristic Technologies…From the Past

Embracing Futuristic Technologies…From the Past

For anyone watching live television or binge-watching shows on Hulu, you may have caught the recent commercial from Samsung advertising their new Galaxy Gear watch. Appealing to all age brackets, the ad features a string of nostalgic clips dating back to the 1960s from iconic TV series and films – from The Jetsons and Get Smart to Inspector Gadget and even those Mighty Morphin Power Rangers – displaying characters like Fred Flinstone and Captain Kirk sporting variations of what we’re now deeming the ‘smart watch.’

Delightful ad aside, the content offers a glimpse into the imaginative minds of the entertainment industry and posits the following question: Does Hollywood predict future technologies? Even more to the point, Samsung has titled the commercial ‘A Long Time Coming,’ insinuating that these pop cultural moments have been on-point with the evolution of technology from the get-go. Even though technology we see in entertainment may seem far-fetched at times, from the never-ending gadgets Q provides James Bond to the impressive gesture control systems in Minority Report, some cases have started to become the norm. Such is the case for gesture control, which is very much a reality now with growing acceptance, and we are moving closer and closer to swiping entire databases of information across our offices à la Tom Cruise.

So what does this mean for the technological decisions to be made in business operations? For startups? For public relations? Well, it may mean that there is something to be said for distending some belief and taking risks. Of course, new, groundbreaking technologies need to be grounded in reality with practical and sustainable foundations, but creativity is also as equally important, which is one of the reasons Steve Jobs become so incredibly successful. From a public relations standpoint, it means trusting your client and communicating how technologies can improve our lives, thus paving the way for future generations to continue the same tradition. At the end of the day, those technologies that survive will combine expectations and practicalities with overwhelming imagination, which is perhaps the most important thing of all. If the tech industry keeps at it, and investors take risks, then maybe we really will be like the Jetsons, flying cars and all.